AMERKS CONTINUE HOMESTAND TONIGHT AGAINST SAN ANTONIO

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Rochester Americans continue their three-game homestand tonight as the San Antonio Rampage journey north to The Blue Cross Arena in their only visit to Western New York this season. The 7:05 p.m. contest will be the first of just two meetings this season between the interconference rivals and will be broadcast live on Sports 1280 WHTK.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Amerks are 0-4-1-0 over their last five get-togethers with San Antonio dating back to the 2007-08 campaign, when Rochester last defeated the Rampage by virtue of a 3-2 shootout victory back on Feb. 9, 2008. In addition, five of the last six games between the two teams have been decided by one goal, including last season’s 3-2 overtime loss at the AT&T Center this past December.

AMERKS NOTES: Rochester (9-6-1-0, 19 points) enters the contest fresh off its 5-2 post-Thanksgiving win over the Albany Devils on Black Friday at The Blue Cross Arena. A packed house of 8,781 fans were treated to an offensive display by rookie forward Brian Flynn, who registered his first career hat trick on his way to a career-best four-point night (3+1). Defenseman T.J. Brennan added two goals and an assist while Flynn also recorded an assist as the pair combined for seven points and all five Amerk goals to help the team break a brief two-game skid. Goaltender David Leggio stopped 33 of 35 shots, including a shorthanded breakaway chance by Albany’s Adam Henrique, to pick up his ninth win of the season in goal. Brennan, Rochester’s leading goal scorer, scored both his goals while the team was shorthanded in a span of 6:35, tying a franchise record for the most shorthanded goals scored by one player in the same game. The win moved the Amerks into a third-place tie with Toronto in the American Hockey League’s North Division standings, but remain nine points behind league-leading Abbotsford, who sits atop the AHL with 28 points.

AMERKS QUICK HITS

With 46 goals through their last 12 games, the Amerks are currently fourth in the AHL in goals for with 58, nine shy of Charlotte’s league-leading 67 tallies. Rochester is currently averaging 3.63 goals-per-game, the third-most among AHL opponents.

Rochester’s power-play has been one of the most potent in the league over the last 12 games as the Amerks have converted on 15 of their last 62 man-advantage opportunities. The Amerks rank tied for fifth in the league with 17 power-play goals and own the seventh-best power-play unit in the AHL with a 21.0% efficiency rate. More impressively, Rochester has scored at least one power-play goal in 11 of the first 16 games this season.

With 14 points over his last 13 games, including a three-point outing at Syracuse on Nov. 10, Marcus Foligno is tied for the team lead with 17 points (6+11) in 16 games this season. The second-year pro currently ranks tied for 15th overall among the AHL’s top scorers, while his 11 assists are tied for 16th.

Brennan, who has found the back of the net in four of his last six games, ranks second in scoring among AHL defensemen with 17 points (9+8) while his team-leading nine goals are second most among league rearguards and ninth overall.

Additionally, four of Brennan’s nine tallies have also come on the power-play, tying him for seventh among league leaders, while also he shares the league lead with two shorthanded goals.

Six of Cody Hodgson’s nine assists have come on the man-advantage, good enough for 12th in the league in that category.

Fresh off his four-point game aganinst Albany on Friday, Flynn ranks tied for fifth among AHL rookies with 15 points (8+7) in 15 games.

Leggio, who has started 14 of the last 16 games for the Amerks, leads all AHL netminders in saves (420) and wins (9), while his 848:48 minutes played are third-most among league backstops. He also boasts the third-best shootout record among goaltenders, having stopped nine of 10 shooters for a .889 save percentage.

Brennan is 10th in the league with 59 shots on goal.

Averaging 3.88 penalty minutes per game, Tarnasky is 14th in the AHL with 62 penalty minutes. He also comes into the week ranking third with eight fighting majors, including three in his last seven games.

Rochester is 5-3-0-0 on home ice this season and is just one of seven teams to remain unbeaten in the shootout.

SAN ANTONIO NOTES: San Antonio (4-10-0-3, 11 points), kicking off a five-game North Division road swing tonight, comes into the matchup in the midst of an eight-game losing streak following its 5-3 loss to the Texas Stars Sunday night at the AT&T Center. Rookie forward Drew Shore provided a pair of goals while second-year goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris made 30 saves for the Rampage, who have collected just two points over their recent skid and fallen to the basement in the AHL standings. San Antonio also brings the AHL’s worst road record into tonight’s game with a 0-4-0-1 mark and is the only team to remain winless on the road this season. The game will be a walk down memory lane for some, especially for Rampage head coach Chuck Weber and assistant coach Jason Cipolla, who both shared the bench in the same capacity in Rochester during the 2010-11 season. Cipolla served as the Amerks assistant coach for four seasons (2007-11), finishing his tenure with the Amerks with a 128-172-20 record (287 points) in 320 career games. Several Rampage players also called the Flower City their home in 2010-11, including Colby Robak, Michael Caruso, Eric Selleck and Jacob Markstrom to name a few.

UP NEXT: The Amerks host the defending Western Conference champion Toronto Marlies on Friday, Nov. 30 in the first of back-to-back tilts as the North Division rivals square off in a 7:05 p.m. bout at The Blue Cross Arena. The matchup will be the second of 10 get-togethers this season and will be carried live on Sports 1280 WHTK.

A ‘FLYNN-TASTIC’ NOVEMBERAfter recording just one point through his first seven games of the season, first-year forward Brian Flynn has been the Amerks’ most productive and consistent player since the American Hockey League opened play in November. In eight games this month, Flynn has registered an astounding 14 points (7+7) and is averaging 1.75 points per game over his current eight-game point streak, which began with an assist in Rochester’s 3-2 win over Hamilton on Nov. 2. More impressively, however, Flynn has compiled four multi-point outings during that stretch, including three of his last five appearances that was highlighted by a career-high four-point effort (3+1) against Albany on Friday as he recorded his first career hat trick. The Amerks are also 4-1-0-0 this season when Flynn scores a goal.

BRENNAN HALFWAY THEREWith two more goals in Rochester’s 5-2 triumph over Albany on Friday, Brennan is on pace to shatter Rick Pagnutti’s 40-year-old franchise record for the most goals scored by a defenseman in a single-season. Pagnutti set the mark during the 1972-73 campaign, his first in Rochester, when he netted 18 goals en route to a 55-point season, which led all Amerks defensemen and placed him third on the team in overall scoring. Brennan officially reached the halfway point with a pair of shorthanded tallies on Friday to bring his season total to nine through just 16 games this season. The fourth-year blueliner fell just two short of the record last season, scoring 16 goals in only 52 games with the Amerks.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORTAfter posting back-to-back 3-2 losses to Abbotsford and Binghamton last weekend, the Amerks have seen nine of their first 16 games of the season decided by one goal, including three straight one-goal contests to begin the month of November. Rochester is 4-4-1-0 in one-goal games this season after finishing the 2011-12 campaign with 42 such outings last season. Of those nine one-goal games, three have been determined in overtime or via the shootout, for a 2-0-1-0 mark.

BY THE NUMBERSThe Amerks are 3-3-0-0 (6 points) this season against North Division rivals, but show a 6-3-1-0 (13 points) mark versus non-divisional foes. The second period has been Rochester’s strong suit thus far as the club has accounted for 23 goals while allowing 15. The Amerks have scored the first goal in 12 of the first 16 games of the campaign and show a 7-4-1-0 record when doing so, including a 4-2-0-0 mark at home. Rochester is also 7-1-0-0 when leading after two periods, a streak that also shows an unblemished 4-0-0-0 mark at home. Coming off a season-high 51 shots on goal at Binghamton on Nov. 17, the Amerks are averaging 32.44 shots per game, the fifth-highest output among league opponents.

WHO’S HOTFlynn, who shows 10 points (5+5) through his last five games, is in the midst of a career-long eight-game point streak (7+7) after being held pointless in six of his first seven games… Despite seeing his four-game point streak (1+3) cut short on Friday, second-year defenseman Brayden McNabb has collected one goal and nine assists in his last 13 appearances… Brennan, who also recently had a four-game point streak halted, shows goals in four of his last six games, including a stretch of three straight games from Nov. 9 to Nov. 14… Evan Rankin has registered 11 points (4+7) over his last 13 games… More impressively, the Portage, Michigan, native has only been held scoreless just five times in 16 games this season… Nick Tarnasky has tallied goals in four of his last nine games, including two in his last five appearances... Foligno, Rochester’s reigning Rookie of the Year, has registered eight points (1+7) in his last nine games, including six points (1+5) in his last four… Alex Biega has collected seven points (1+6) over his last 12 games, including at least one in three straight games between Oct. 26 and Nov. 2… Veteran forward Mark Mancari enters the week after notching eight points (2+6) through his last 12 showings, a stretch that features a pair of multi-point outings… Meanwhile, newcomer Rick Schofield also shows seven points (3+4) over the last 12 games and team captain Kevin Porter has tabbed four points (1+3) in as many games.

MILESTONE WATCHMancari skated in his 500th career AHL game at Hamilton on Nov. 14… Rookie defenseman Jerome Gauthier-Leduc also made his professional debut against the Bulldogs and scored his first pro goal in the 4-1 win… Rookie forward Kevin Sundher notched his first professional point with an assist in a 5-2 win at Syracuse on Nov. 10… Brennan, who recently eclipsed the 100-point mark in his AHL career, skated in his 200th career AHL game versus Adirondack on Nov. 9… Defenseman Nick Crawford needs just one more game for 150 pro appearances… Luke Adam is two games shy of the century mark for his AHL career… Leggio needs another two wins to reach 100 career victories… Schofield is just one game away from 100 AHL appearances and Foligno is just 10 appearances shy of 100 pro tilts.

TONIGHT'S PROMOTIONS

Business Persons Special – For any Sunday through Thursday game, fans who present their business cards at The Blue Cross Arena Box Office can purchase a $17 ticket for best-available lower level seating.

Eats & Seats – The Distillery “Eats & Seats” promotion returns for another season, where for just $20, fans can purchase one ticket (best-available) and a $10 gift card to The Distillery.